Appreciation and the Bomb
by Jenn1984
Summary: Guns, explosions, and a bleeding Psychic. Juliet is going to kill him.


_Thought I'd try posting here again. I hope you enjoy._

_Major thanks to my adorable Eight, and my amazing Petra for looking this over for me._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Psych.

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Juliet doesn't know how Shawn gets himself into these situations. It's extremely _frustrating_, and she would probably _strangle_ him right now if she wasn't being _shot_ at.

And if he wasn't _bleeding_.

Oh, that's right. He's been _shot_. In the shoulder. Juliet is furious, but she isn't sure if she'd rather kill Shawn or the thugs who shot him. Maybe she'll just kill them _all_.

Jail would be a vacation compared to this.

"I could help, you know. I'm pretty good with a gun," Shawn mutters, wincing as he shifts upward. He's in pain, and Juliet wants to feel bad for him but she just can't bring herself to feel any remorse when she's being _shot_ at!

Glass sprays them both and Juliet dives to cover Shawn in an effort to protect him from the sharp, pointy shards. "No gun," she hisses a few inches from his face, his gaze piercing into her own. Oh, no, he's not going to break her.

Distant sirens are screaming, getting closer with every breath Juliet takes. She's relieved, help is coming. She ducks again, more glass shattering, and looks at Shawn. She wants to share her relief with him, but she can't.

He looks worried.

"What?" she asks, moving closer when she sees a stray bullet whiz past out of the corner of her eye. He's squinting, looking around, eyes darting wildly from one car to another. They grow wide and he pushes up with his good arm, flailing for something on Juliet.

"Tell back up to back _off_!" he yells, groping for her radio.

Stunned and unprepared for the sudden outburst, Juliet pushes him back and he moans in pain. Her chest tightens. She didn't mean to hurt him. "Dammit, Shawn, I'm sorry," she says, hands hovering over him. She's afraid to touch him again. "But what do you mean no back up? We can't hold them off forever, they're _shooting_ at us!"

He's breathing harder, tugging on her sleeve like a child in a toy store who's begging his mother for a new action figure. "Come on, Jules, run with me!"

What? There's nowhere to go, he's completely lost his mind! Too much blood loss, she'll blame it on too much blood loss. "Shawn, they've finally slowed the shooting. And you can barely move!" What's _wrong_ with him?

"They're almost out of bullets, Juliet. We'll just have to dodge them."

"Shawn, you're not making..."

"Dynamite, Jules! There's dynamite under these cars! Here," he points to the car next to them and she realizes it has yet to be hit with a bullet, "and there," he says, pointing to a few more around the lot they're stuck in. No bullets in any of them. Damn, these guys are good. "They're planning on blowing up half the S.B.P.D., which is why they haven't _killed_ us yet, now tell them to _back_ _off_!"

Stunned, again, heart racing faster than ever. This is insane. Completely insane. Juliet picks up her radio with shaking hands and, well, tells their back up to back off. They're reluctant, but she explains the situation and they agree to stand down. For now, at least.

Great. Now what the hell are they supposed to do?

"Follow me," Shawn tells her, gripping her hand with his functioning arm, though she does notice the weak grip and it makes her heart drop just a little.

He falters slightly, having a lot of trouble moving since he's in so much pain. Juliet takes the lead and he doesn't protest, though she can see he wants to. Well, too bad, buddy, you're the one who got us into this mess in the first place.

Juliet regrets to acknowledge the fact that they never would have found out these guys were planning on blowing up the court house if he _hadn't_ gotten them into this mess.

They hear another bullet shattering yet another car window, somewhere to their right. Juliet doesn't know where the bullet came from, but she's not going to stay and find out and her nerves are starting to get the best of her. She takes Shawn's hand again and pulls.

"Wait, Jules, they know we're moving."

"We need to get the hell out of here, Shawn. This place can blow up any..."

She stops. His eyes dart up and widen.

"Juliet, down, now!"

Shawn grabs her, rolls with her, covers her. Five seconds later her ears are assaulted with a near deafening sound.

And it _hurts_.

She lies on the hard, rocky asphalt for a minute. Maybe a few minutes, she's not exactly sure. She can feel the fire burning, and it's hot, making her sweat as she tries to get her mind to focus on any injuries she may have. Nothing hurts too badly as far as she can tell. Eyes squinting in the smoke, she turns to see Shawn bleeding and coughing next to her. Maybe she should move and see if he's OK. She _wants_ to see if he's OK. _Needs_ to see.

Sirens again. Yelling, shooting. Another explosion. It's a war zone out here, but Juliet can't bring herself to move.

She doesn't know how long she lies there, fingernails digging into Shawn's arm. She's probably making him bleed more, and he'll probably have scars. He deserves them, so she doesn't feel as bad about scarring him as she thinks she probably should.

Then Lassiter is kneeling beside her. He's talking, he looks worried. Why does he look so worried? His gaze leaves her and he's casting another worried look at Shawn. He never worries about Shawn.

Maybe she's dreaming. This would really make more sense if she was dreaming. But it hurts too much for it to be a dream.

She turns her head and sees Shawn staring back at her. He's grinning like an idiot. Of course, he's almost been blown to hell and he's _still_ beaming.

It's in his eyes, though, and she can see it as they stare at one another through the clearing smoke. That hint of protection, whisper of assurance.

She's grateful. They actually made it out of this alive.

Which will make it so much more gratifying when she _kills_ him.

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I hope you enjoyed :) Reviews/helpful criticism much appreciated.


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